We are used to seeing Anne Hathaway play a likeable, good natured character – reluctant royalty (The Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted) a super spy (Get Smart) or a working stiff who makes good (The Devil Wears Prada). But it’s her brief, gritty appearance in Brokeback Mountain that best prepares us for her starring role as Kym, the recovering drug addict who goes on leave from rehab to attend her sister Rachel’s wedding.

She is not at all likeable, but she is painfully compelling, maybe even a little sympathetic, and we finally get an eyeful of the stellar performance Hathaway can give once she gets her hand on a worthy role. We piece together Kym’s back story as the film progresses, and we begin to understand why she’s the way she is. Still, her plainer sister Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt) is considerably better adjusted, and message that beauty is not always a blessing begins to seep in. Kym has almost disfigured herself with a horrid, self-inflicted haircut and dye job. In her efforts to fight her addiction and turn herself around, Kym’s introspection turns to self-obsession.

She creates drama and makes herself the focus of every situation, even though this is supposed to be her sister’s big event. Kym pushes her mother, father, her sister and the maid of honor to their respective breaking points, and the results are very real and heart rending. It appears that Jonathan Demme, the same director who brought you The Silence of the Lambs and The Manchurian Candidate, has poured his heart and soul into this very intimate, independent film. It’s dark, and at times intentionally grating, as with the wedding musicians who never stop jamming through the entire wedding weekend. They never let up, just as Kym never lets up. But Anne Hathaway lets you in, deeper than you’ve ever been before.

Rated R.  

-- Lisa Johnson Mandell